Mont-Sainte-Anne is the oldest and one of the most storied venues on the calendar of the UCI Mountain Bike World Cup presented by Shimano. The Canadian resort always offers a demanding circuit: steep climbs and root-studded, rocky descents for the XCO, and one of the longest tracks of the series for the DHI. This year, MSA was the final major competition before the Rio 2016 Olympic cross-country races.
The women's DHI race unfolded as predicted, with Rachel Atherton (Trek Factory) scoring a remarkable 12th consecutive UCI World Cup win, sewing up the overall title in the process with one race remaining. Atherton finished over 11 seconds ahead of Tracey Hannah (Polygon UR), with Tahnee Seagrave (Transition Factory) taking third. Atherton now has an insurmountable 1470 points, followed by Manon Carpenter (Madison Saracen) at 990 and Seagrave at 930.
The men's DHI race was a battle to the finish, with Danny Hart (MS Mondraker) following up his first UCI World Cup win at the previous round with his second, once again beating series leader Aaron Gwin (The YT Mob). UCI World Champion Loic Bruni (Specialized Gravity) showed that his return from injury is complete by finishing third. Gwin continues to lead the standings with 1186 points, but Hart is getting closer, now only 178 points back. Troy Brosnan (Specialized Racing) continues to sit in third at 920 points.
Catharine Pendrel (Luna) and Julien Absalon (BMC) were the winners on Sunday in the XCO. Pendrel edged closer to UCI World Cup leader Annika Langvad (Specialized) in the overall standings, after Langvad could only manage fourth, while Absalon moved into the lead of the men's standings after Nino Schurter (Scott Odlo) decided to skip MSA for his Olympic preparations. It is Pendrel's fourth win at Mont-Sainte-Anne - setting a record in the women's field - and the 12th of her career.
Langvad continues to lead the women's overall standings with 926 points and one race remaining, but her lead over Pendrel has shrunk to 56 points. Absalon moved into the men's leader's jersey, with 1060 points. Schurter drops to second, 160 points back, followed by Maxime Marotte (BH-SR Suntour-KMC) at 798 points.
Vallnord, Andorra XCO #6 / DHI #7 > September 3-4
Where to watch?
The races will be broadcasted live on our website and on Red Bull TV :
DHI Women/Men > 03.09.2016 /12:30 - 14:30 GMT XCO Women > 04.09.2016 / 09:00 - 11:00 GMT XCO Men > 04.09.2016 / 12:00 - 14:00 GMT
All live broadcasts can be watched worldwide and without geo-blocking.
Not held in 2015
The final round of the 2016 UCI Mountain Bike World Cup presented by Shimano will take place in Vallnord, Andorra, hosts of last year’s UCI World Championships.
For XCO, it is the first major event after the Rio Olympics. The course is extremely demanding, with challenging singletrack sections and steep climbs. Altitude also plays a factor, having caused athletes to suffer in the past. For the gravity riders, Vallnord will be a chance to compete on a steep, rough track, just one week before their UCI World Championships in Val di Sole, Italy.
American downhill racer Aaron Gwin (The YT Mob) has racked up 16 UCI World Cup victories since 2011, and three overall titles. This puts him only three wins behind record holder Greg Minnaar (Santa Cruz Syndicate). Gwin is famous for his unbelievable win at the Leogang World Cup in 2015, when he broke his chain out of the start gate and still managed to coast his bike to victory. He currently leads the 2016 series.
Key Results
1st Overall DHI UCI World Cup (2011, 2012, 2015) 16 DHI UCI World Cup victories 6x U.S. DHI Champion
The Mountain Bike races will be held on the last weekend of competition in Rio:
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